Not the Spain of 2013, but the Spain of 1936-39 when wracked by civil war, it was viewed much in the manner in which we regard Syria regarded today: a struggle between good and evil. Spain served as a combination of proxy battle between fascists (Nationalists) and nonfascists (Republicans) and de facto prelude to World War II. But in 1930s Spain, the “good guys” were the government (the Republic) and the bad guys were the rebels (military units headed by Francisco Franco seeking to overthrow the Republic). The era’s liberal, politically-correct leftists supported the Republic, which was also backed by the Soviets and Mexico. The conservative Christian Falange (allied with Germany, Italy, and Portugal) fought for its overthrow.

There were atrocities on both sides; tens of thousands of civilians, both Republicans and Nationalists were killed for religious or political views. Various casualty counts range between 500,000 and a million.